Marcus Canty's luck finally ran out on Thursday's (December 15) "The X Factor," as the 20-year-old from Bowie, Maryland, was voted off the show one week away from the finale. That leaves Josh Krajcik, Chris Rene and Melanie Amaro to battle it out for the $5 million recording contract in next week's finals.

Canty found himself in a familiar position on Thursday's results show when he was among the last two to have his fate read by host Steve Jones. Canty had landed in the bottom two each of the last three weeks but had pulled through each time, including last week's dramatic finish when he triumphed over cutie-pie contestant Rachel Crow after a controversial decision by Nicole Scherzinger to put the final results in the hands of America's votes.

Canty didn't have a chance to sing for his life to the judges this week, as votes were decided by America and America only. Krajcik and Canty were the last two standing on the stage, and Krajcik was put through, sending Canty home.

The singer, who was compared early on to Bobby Brown, took the news in stride. He was at a disadvantage coming off Wednesday's episode, after Simon Cowell called his performance of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" "grotesque" and "an absolute joke." His version of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You" didn't fare much better.

"It's not over, just trust me. This is not the last time you will see Marcus Canty," Canty said after the vote was read. "I gave it my all, and that's really, at the end of the day, that's all you can do."

L.A. Reid, who mentored Canty in the competition, expressed sadness at his contestant's elimination and told Canty he has his support going forward.

Some 30 million votes were cast by viewers this week, according to host Jones.

Earlier in the episode, Chris Rene was the first act put through to the finals, and Melanie Amaro followed. Jones stressed the results were read in no particular order.

The show also saw Florence and the Machine performing "Spectrum" and Nicole Scherzinger debuting her latest single, "Pretty." Afterward, Cowell weighed in on the performance and mocked Scherzinger's cosmic judging style by telling her, "I believe in you, you believe in me, you transcend the universe, God is smiling on you, life is a waterfall, and you are the ultimate rainbow."

Krajcik, Rene and Amaro will face off on Wednesday's 90-minute performance episode, and a winner will be crowned at the conclusion of next Thursday's two-hour finale.